Gov. Scott Walker's office says the decision by President Donald Trump's administration to separate children from parents who illegally cross the U.S. border is a federal issue.

Walker's position on Trump's practice of separating families comes as at least eight governors, including two Republicans, have refused to send National Guard troops to the nation's southern border.

Trump retreated from family separations on Wednesday amid growing political pressure, signing an executive order that would instead allow officials to detain parents and children together for indefinite periods of time.

As Trump signed the order, he said, “I didn’t like the sight or the feeling of families being separated.”

But Walker has declined to criticize the practice.

Asked about his position on the issue, Walker spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg referred to a previous statement she made defending the decision to send National Guard troops.